CHAPTER

12

Looking Far and Wide

It was around that time that word of Caliper’s approach to assessing talent started to spread across the Atlantic Ocean. Herb and David were asked to speak on a whirlwind tour of eight British cities by the Institute of Marketing.

For several reasons, this seemed to be a perfect introduction to possibly taking their new approach to assessing talent into another country. First and foremost, of course, there was no language barrier. And while there were certainly cultural differences, it was assumed that they would not be as vast and significant as might be found by starting in, say, Japan or China.

Still, there would be cultural differences that would be intriguing to explore. It was like taking what they had learned about the qualities that distinguish top-performing salespeople back into the laboratory. Would there be similarities between the best salespeople in the United States and in the United Kingdom? Would there be cultural differences between salespeople in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Cardiff? Or, would those differences be more a matter of style than substance?

“It was a very exciting time,” Herb recalls. “I remember sitting on a Boeing 707 with a publicist we brought over for the occasion, and he kept marveling, ‘We’re going where Shakespeare lived.’ He just couldn’t get over the notion that we were flying to the place where the Bard came from.” It was a time of new awakenings and infinite possibilities.

Herb adds, “We were most intrigued by exploring the differences and similarities between top-performing salespeople on each side of the pond, as they say over there.”

However, when Herb was interviewed by journalists in the United Kingdom and started presenting at some of the seminars that had been arranged by the British Institute of Marketing, he realized that something was not quite clicking. His enthusiastic message about the qualities that distinguish top-performing salespeople was not hitting the right notes. Something was clearly off.

It did not take him long to figure out that in the United Kingdom, the profession of sales doesn’t have anywhere near the same status as it does in the United States.

“In the United States, while salespeople are certainly the brunt of many jokes, and salespeople may be perceived as being overbearing or over-the-top by some people, there is still a clear understanding and appreciation that ‘nothing happens until something is sold,’ “ Herb says.

He adds, “That’s why, in the United States, there is only one option for fast trackers who are looking to make more money than their peers, are seeking increased responsibility, and are too impatient to slowly climb their way up the corporate ladder—sales.”

“But in the United Kingdom,” Herb says, “they do not even like the word salespeople. Someone who was ‘selling’ would rather call themselves a ‘relationship manager’ or an ‘account consultant.’ “

So the first thing that Herb learned, as he began traveling internationally to introduce his concept of assessing potential and talent, was how to adjust his presentations in order to connect with his audiences in different countries and cultures.

“What became clear to us quickly,” he says, “is that executives in other countries are not looking for some American expert to come along and tell them how to do things better. That approach would backfire very quickly.”

He learned that while executives in other countries were intrigued by new and evolving innovations from America, he needed to partner with executives who were already established and respected in those particular marketplaces. That became a winning combination for introducing Caliper’s approach to hiring top talent in new countries. “They wanted to hear what we had to say,” Herb says. “They were very intrigued. Absolutely. But when it came to us delivering our hiring approach in other countries, we needed the credentials and credibility of someone who was already on the ground, and an integral part of that country. Ideal partners for us were consulting companies who were already succeeding in a tangential practice to ours—such as sales or leadership training. Then they could introduce our approach to the clients with whom they were already working. And we could introduce them to our clients who were expanding into their country. That, we discovered, created the ideal synergy,” he says. He discovered that the ideal partnership had as much to do with strategy as it did with chemistry. These new partners would bring insights, knowledge, credentials, and expertise to a marketplace where they already had an established presence, which ideally positioned them to introduce Caliper’s new, more precise way to assess and develop talent.

Over the course of the next several decades, Caliper would learn to refine that approach to different marketplaces. Offices in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom were soon opened. With the success of those ventures, offices were opened in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden.

“What continually fascinates me,” Herb says, “is that each market has unique differences and similarities. We are constantly tweaking as we learn about some of the subtle differences that distinguish us all and some of the universal truths we all share in common.”

Herb shares that sometimes he has decided to enter growing markets because there is a clear need to help companies assess the potential and talent of individuals. More often than not, though, he says, “Caliper has developed capabilities within certain countries because our key clients, such as Kohler, were looking to expand into those countries, and they wanted to bring us along with them. They were looking for our expertise to help them identify and develop talent in those new and emerging marketplaces. In such cases,” Herb adds, “your clients often lead you in directions and to places that you would have never imagined. In order to service large, multinational companies, we had to become global in our own capabilities. As a result, our in-depth personality assessment is now available in over 20 languages.”

What has he learned that impresses him most about why people succeed in different cultures?

“When all is said and done, there are more similarities than differences between people in Boston and Paris, just as there are between people from Philadelphia and Madrid and between people in Manhattan and Billings, Montana. What is inside of someone may be expressed differently because of cultural differences. Some of us may be more subtle, while others are more boisterous. But inside of people, where it really matters, we have found there is the same distribution of qualities driving us including empathy, resilience, need to persuade, assertiveness, conscientiousness, etcetera. It is just a matter of measuring what is inside of someone, then realizing that it will be expressed differently in different cultures. So, someone who is driven to persuade others may express that drive differently in Japan than they would in England. But the drive, that need to persuade, will be just the same in both individuals.”

Early on, we were asked to help assess salespeople in Tokyo, and we were very hesitant. But, we quickly learned that while there are certainly differences in the approach to selling in every country and culture, the motivation is fundamental and consistent.”

Herb adds, “At the end of the day, we are all more similar than we are different.” Pausing, he muses, “Sometimes when I hear about all the conflicts in different parts of the world today, I wish we could just concentrate on what we share in common, rather than the differences that we sometimes believe separate us.”

What was one of the most interesting findings he has come across as he has entered new countries with different languages and distinct cultures?

“We were very enthused about entering the Czech Republic in the early 1990s when they ceased being a communist state with a centrally planned economy. From our perspective, this was a pure laboratory. As the country embraced capitalism, jobs were being created for which no one had experience. So we were measuring the potential and the inner drive of adults who had never had such jobs. Would they have leadership, management, sales, and customer service potential that had been lying dormant up to this point in their lives? We couldn’t wait to start assessing job applicants under such circumstances. The country was trying to find its way. Opportunities seemed to be everywhere. And everyone was trying to figure out how they might fit in.

“Most interestingly,” he adds, “as we tested for sales positions, we found that 25 percent of the population had sales potential. They were driven to persuade. What is so incredible about that, to me, is that there was not even the word salesperson in the language. Neither the word nor the profession existed before. Yet still, in the newly formed Czech Republic, we found there was exactly the same percentage of the population that was driven to persuade that we have found in every other country in which we have worked. This, to me, was astounding. It underscored that there is the same amount of potential—to lead, to manage, to sell, to deliver customer service—everywhere, regardless of age, gender, or culture. None of those superficialities matter. All that matters is that we help to identify the potential of individuals and help them develop their potential to their fullest capability.”

How are leaders discovering the talent they need in different countries around the world?

Stephen Inman, director of corporate human resources at Kohler Company, who has incorporated Caliper’s assessment and consulting into his firm’s hiring and development practices in China, India, France, and England, told us that working in different countries has given him an enormous appreciation and insight into people—and into himself.

Echoing Herb’s philosophy, Stephen underscores, “When people ask for my advice about working in different countries, I always tell them to look for the similarities. Don’t get hung up on the differences. They have a job; you have a job. They have a family; you have a family. They have aging parents; you have aging parents. They have a mortgage; you have a mortgage. If you look for the cultural differences too soon, you’ll stumble on them and highlight them and be confused by them. Instead, look to what you share in common, which is often enormous. If you focus on the similarities, they will trust you. Then they will share with you what the cultural differences are, so that you can appreciate them—rather than have them separate you.”

As Stephen considers whether someone has the potential to succeed in different countries, what does he look for?

“I want to know if they are adaptable, flexible, open, and curious. Can they listen well and reflect on what they are hearing? I also want to know if they are skeptical while being empathic. I know that might sound funny, but they’ve got to have enough skepticism to ask what somebody means when they say, ‘It’s different here.’ They need to probe, to make sure that they understand. But they also need to have enough empathy to listen to someone and not just focus on what they are saying, but to truly seek out what is meant by the difference.”

What do some people possess that allows them to succeed in a new marketplace? Why are some people truly global citizens?

Herb says, “Ultimately, people who succeed in various and diverse situations are willing to take risks. Moving out of a comfortable space can have risks. And if, for whatever reason, you don’t take those risks, you can stay within the space you know and not venture forth. Some people are more comfortable leveraging their knowledge and capabilities in their current network. Others are driven by new experiences, new challenges, and new opportunities. It really comes down to how people are wired.

“To succeed in today’s global marketplace,” Herb adds, “leaders need to be bright and strategic. They need to enjoy developing plans, then be comfortable adjusting them on the fly. They also need to be able to convey ideas and initiatives in a forthright manner, be persuasive, and be equally inclined to listen to ideas from others. The ideal global leader also needs to be flexible, highly organized, and driven to succeed. Setbacks will have to be perceived as nothing but learning experiences. Competing in the global marketplace calls for an ideal blend of the qualities that distinguish top-performing leaders—at hyper speed.”

How does Herb decide when the time is right to enter a new marketplace?

“That’s when a quality I have, which people are constantly teasing me about, comes into play. I have an enormous amount of urgency. Essentially, that’s a need to get things done now. We have a scale on which we measure the amount of urgency someone possesses. Essentially, it goes from zero to 100. And people tease me that mine is in the 200 range,” he says. “The truth of the matter is that I just can’t sit around and wait for something to happen. To me, that’s just a royal waste of time. So, I’d rather try something and make a mistake than not try something and never know what I was missing. Sure, I’ll listen to all the analysis that anyone on my team can provide me with. Sure, I’ll talk with anyone we’re considering partnering with and trust my instincts. But when push comes to shove, it is about trying something—giving something a shot, with all you’ve got. That’s the only way to tell whether something will work or not.”

That sense of urgency, a defining quality for Herb, brings us back to the beginning of how Caliper started to become international. The speaking engagements and media interviews throughout Britain, arranged by the Institute of Marketing, were going exceedingly well. At every turn, there was extreme interest in everything they were saying. Things were clicking in ways they had never possibly imagined. In the thrall of the moment, David knocked on Herb’s hotel door and told him he had a surprise for him. With childlike glee, he led him to the elevator, through the hotel lobby, and onto the street, where he excitedly said, “Run your hands across this.” Going along with him, Herb said, “That’s nice. What is it?” David said, “It’s a 1933 Rolls-Royce convertible. And it is yours.” Not waiting for a response, David quickly added, “Behind it is a 1948 Bentley, which is now mine.” Herb just started laughing. Then they both were cracking up. Herb finally was able to say, “How did you buy these? We don’t have enough money for these.” “Not yet,” is all David said, still laughing. “But we will.” To this day, Herb says, “I don’t know how he did it, but he did. We ended up taking them back to the United States and selling them, coming out a little ahead in the deal. But I can say that once, for a very short period of time, I owned a Rolls-Royce convertible.”

Questions to Ask Yourself About Urgency